Chinese Characters and Radicals
Each Chinese character on the right-hand column of the following table contains or is classified by a radical. Occasionally a radical may simply be a character. The radicals displayed in the table can be seen in radical indexes of most Chinese dictionaries for simplified characters. However, some characters are catalogued under different radicals. For instance, a same character can be found under a particular radical in one dictionary but under another in a different dictionary. The radical usually, but not invariably, gives a name or clue as to the meaning of the character, as can be seen from the second column of the following table.
For more information on Chinese characters please visit Wikipedia
Click on the links below to find the answers.
- How is a Chinese character formed?
- How do I learn and remember Chinese characters?
- What are the advantages of leaning the radicals?
- Where will I find the radical of a character?
- Do I have to learn all the radicals?
- Radical table
How is a Chinese character formed?
Chinese characters are formed in the following 7 different ways.
- Single structured such as 雨 yŭ rain.
- Left and right structured such as 好hăo good, which is formed by the radical女 nǚ woman and the character子 zĭ child.
- Left, middle and right structured such as粥 zhōu porridge, which is formed by the character 米mĭ rice, placed between two characters of 弓gōng bow.
- Top and base structured such as 华huá China, which is formed by the character 化huà to transform or convert and the radical 十shí ten.
- Top, middle and base structured such as 鼻 bí nose, which is formed by 自zì oneself 田tián field and the radical 廾 which means to join hands.
- Half enclosure structured such as 医 yī medicine, cure, which is formed by the radical匚 which means basket and the character 矢 shĭ arrow; 周 zhōu circle, which is formed by the radical冂which means boarders and the character 吉 jí auspicious; 凶 xiōng inauspicious, which is formed by X and the radical凵 which means receptacle.
- Enclosure structured such as 国 guó state, which is formed by the character 玉 yù jade and the radical 囗 which means enclosure.
Some characters have components which hint of the pronunciation of the characters. For instance, as it demonstrates above in 4: 华, one of the components of the character has a similar pronunciation as the character华.
How do I learn and remember Chinese characters?
One way of remembering characters is to make up "stories" which would make "sense" to yourself. For instance, in 休 xiū to rest, the radical on the left, 亻means "a person", and the part on the right, 木, means wood or tree, so the made up "story" could be "a person is leaning against a tree to have a rest." Let's look at another example; 队 duì a queue. The radical on the left, 阝means plenty and the part on the right, 人 means people, so one could say: "Plenty of people make a queue." Sometimes the radical doesn't have enough to allow a story to be made up then one should use one's imagination. For instance, in 办 bàn to deal with the middle part of the character 力 means strength, and the two dots, 、 look like sweat, so one could say: "Nowadays one needs strength and sweat to deal with business."
Using the following radical table while you are learning the Chinese characters in the Characters section on the CD will help you to become familiar with counting strokes and remembering the characters.
What are the advantages of leaning the radicals?
There are at least three advantages for learning the radicals.
- It will help you to remember characters. In some cases, radicals can also give categorical information. For instance, the character忘to forget is formed by the radical 心 heart and 亡 perish. The heart radical often associate with words which imply thinking such as 想 to think. The character想 to think is formed by 心, the heart radical and the character 相, it is pronounced xiāng which is similar to the character想 xiăng.
- Radicals and components are used to describe characters. As there are many homophones in Chinese, characters are often are described by their radicals and components. For instance, if you want to describe the character河river which is pronounced hé. As there are many characters sharing the same pronunciation, when a Chinese person describes this character to you he or she might say: “water radical氵with the character 可.”
- Most importantly, Chinese characters are often catalogued under a radical index in a dictionary. Without knowing radicals will be impossible to use a dictionary. However, the radical indexes in Chinese dictionaries are not always the same. For example, one character can be listed under a particular radical in one dictionary but can be listed under another radical in a different dictionary.
Where will I find the radical of a character?
Radicals of characters are placed either on left, right, top, base or outside of a character as indicated in Column 3 of the following table.
Do I have to learn all the radicals?
There is no need to learn all the radicals first before learning characters. The best way to use the following table is to look up the meanings of radicals when you are watching the animation of the "Radical" column below and the Characters section on the CD. This might help you to make up stories to remember the characters. Highlight the radicals which you have learned with a highlight pen and add the relevant characters into the examples boxes below.
|
Radical |
Number of strokes / meaning / description in Chinese |
Positions in character |
Examples |
|
1 / a point / 点 |
top |
之,为 ,必 |
|
|
1 / one / 横 |
top |
丁,七,才,万,再,事 |
|
|
1 / down stroke / 竖 |
middle |
书,半 |
|
|
1 / left stroke / 撇 |
left, top |
生,川,及,么,乐,向 |
|
|
乙 |
1 / down curved / 竖弯勾 |
left, right |
九,飞,乱 |
|
2 / ice / 两点水 |
left, (base) |
冰,冷,冻,次,准,(冬) |
|
|
午* |
2 / 一撇一横 |
top |
午,年,每,复,舞 |
|
2 / knife / 则 刀旁 |
right |
到,別,刻,刚,剧,制 |
|
|
2 / plenty / 左耳刀旁 |
left |
阳,阴, 队,院,险,防 |
|
|
2 / big city / 右耳刀旁 |
right |
都,那, 邻 |
|
|
予 * |
2 / |
top, middle |
勇,予,疏 |
|
2 / to seal |
top, right |
卫,印,卸 |
|
|
2 / private /撇橫点 (三角) |
top, left |
台, 能, 参 |
|
|
2 / receptacle /凶字底 |
base |
画,击,凶,函 |
|
|
2 / basket /左边筐 |
left |
区,医,匡 |
|
|
2 / borders |
outside, top |
同,用,周,内 |
|
|
个*, 入 |
2 / person, enter |
top |
全,个,今,介,命 |
|
2 / speech /言字旁 |
left |
论,说,讲,谈,语 |
|
|
大* |
2 / [to have] / 一橫一撇 |
top |
有,友,在,左,右,布,灰 |
|
反* |
2 / 横撇竖撇 |
top |
后,质,斤,盾 |
|
2 / person / 人字旁 |
left |
你,他,什,位,作 |
|
|
又 yòu |
2 / also / 又 |
left, base |
双,对,发,欢,难,观 |
|
2 / to move on / 建字底 |
base |
建,延,廷 |
|
|
匕 bĭ |
2 / spoon / 匕字 |
right |
此,北 |
|
儿 ér |
2 / son / 儿 字 |
base |
先,兜 |
|
几 jĭ |
2 / table / 几 字 |
top, outside |
朵,凡 |
|
刀 dāo |
2 / knife / 刀 字 |
base, top, right |
刀,色,象,切 |
|
力 lì |
2 / strength / 力 字 |
right, base, middle |
力, 动 ,办 ,努 |
|
厂 chăng |
2 / cliff / 厂字头 |
top left |
厂,历, 厅 |
|
卜 bŭ |
2 / to divine /卜字 |
top, right |
外,上,卡,占 |
|
二 èr |
2 / two / 二字 |
top, base |
云,些,元,井,于 |
|
十 shí |
2 / ten / 十 字 |
left, top, base |
博,支,华 |
|
2 / to wrap / 包字头 |
right |
包,句,勿 |
|
|
3 / to walk slowly / 双 人旁 |
left |
街,行,往,得 |
|
|
3 / frame / 将字旁 |
left |
将,藏,壮 |
|
|
3 / enclosure / 方匡 |
outside |
国,四,回,图,园 |
|
|
3 / grass / 草字头 |
top |
草,花,茶,英 |
|
|
3 / join hands / 弄字底 |
base |
开,卉,弊 |
|
|
尢 |
3 / crooked / 尤字旁 |
middle, left |
无,尤,尴,尬 |
|
3 / silk / 绞丝 (旁, 底) |
left / base |
给,红,系 |
|
|
3 / sprout |
middle |
出,屯 |
|
|
3 / hand / 提手旁 |
left |
报,打,搬,拉,把,捕 |
|
|
3 / to go / 走之底 |
left |
这,边,还,进,迈 |
|
|
3 / roof / 宝 盖 头 |
top |
家, 宝,它,完,实 |
|
|
3 / water / 三点 水 |
left |
河,汤,洗,海,没 |
|
|
3 / heart / 竖心旁 |
left |
忙,快,慢,怪,忆 |
|
|
3 / to eat / 食字旁 |
left |
饭, 饺, 馆 |
|
|
3 / dog / 反犬旁 |
left |
猫,狗,狼 |
|
|
3 / to follow /折文 |
top, left |
务,冬, 各,处 |
|
|
3 / pig's head |
top |
寻,录,归 |
|
|
巛 |
3 / stream / 三拐 |
top, middle |
巢,巡,(州) |
|
3 / feathery / 三撇 |
right |
影,形 |
|
|
弋 yì |
3 / a dart / 弋 字 |
left |
式,贰 |
|
己, 已 jĭ , yĭ |
3 / self/already
|
top |
导,异,忌 |
|
女 nǚ |
3 / women 女字 |
|
她,好,姐,妈 |
|
巾 jīn |
3 / napkin / 巾字 |
left, base |
帖,幅,币,帮 |
|
山 shān |
3 / mountain / 山 字 |
left |
岁,峡,幽, |
|
大 dà |
3 / great / 大字 |
top, middle |
大,夫,头,奇,太 |
|
丸 wán |
3 / ball, pill /丸字 |
right |
孰 |
|
幺 yāo |
3 / tiny /幺字旁 |
left |
幼,幻 |
|
小 xiăo |
3 / small /小字 |
top |
少,当,尘,省, |
|
弓 gōng |
3 / a bow / 弓字旁 |
left / base |
张,强 |
|
土 tŭ, 士 shì |
3 / earth, scholar / 提土旁 |
left, top, base |
地,场,声,城,墙,尘 |
|
亡 wáng |
3 / to perish / 亡字 |
top, left, base |
忘,盲, 氓, 芒 |
|
夕 xī |
3 / sunset /夕字 |
top, left |
外,名,多,夠 |
|
广 guăng |
3 / shelter /广 字头 |
top |
应,店, 康,度 |
|
门 mén |
3 / gate / 门 字 |
top |
问,间,阅 |
|
子 zĭ |
3 / child / 子 字 |
left, base, top |
孩,孙,学,孟 |
|
4 / old / 老字头 |
top |
考,者,孝 |
|
|
4 / ox / 牛字旁 |
left |
特,物,牲 |
|
|
4 / fire / 四点底 |
base |
点,热,煎,煮, 然,熊,杰 |
|
|
月yuè |
4 / flesh /月字 (旁,底) |
left / base |
肺,朋,肝,胃 |
|
礻 |
4 / spirit /示字旁 |
left |
社,祝,礼,视 |
|
4 / tap / 反文旁 |
right |
收,改,故,教 |
|
|
斗 dŏu |
4 / to measure /斗字 |
right |
斜,斟 |
|
歹 dăi |
4 / bad, evil / 歹字 |
left |
死,列,残 |
|
犬 quăn |
4 / dog / 犬字 |
base, right |
哭,献 |
|
瓦 wă |
4 / baked clay / 瓦字 |
left, base |
瓶,瓷 |
|
不 bù |
4 / not / 不字 |
top |
否,甭,歪,孬 |
|
廿 niàn |
4 / twenty /廿字头 |
top |
共,黄,巷 |
|
木 mù |
4 / wood / 木字(旁,头,底) |
left, top, base |
本,来,村,相,查,架 |
|
王 wáng |
4 / king / 斜王旁 |
left, top, base |
理,现 ,琴,望 |
|
心 xīn |
4 / heart / 心字底 |
base |
您,想,总,愿 |
|
火 hŏu |
4 / fire /火字旁 |
left, base |
灯,炒,烧,烤,爆,炎 |
|
文 wén |
4 / civil / 文字旁 |
left |
斌 |
|
方 fāng |
4 / square, side / 方字 |
left, base |
放,旅,族,旁 |
|
户 hù |
4 / household / 户字旁 |
top |
房,肩,扁,雇 |
|
夭 yāo |
4 / tender, young / 夭字旁 |
top |
吞,乔,蚕 |
|
片 piàn |
4 / a strip / 片 字 |
left |
版,牌 |
|
贝 bèi |
4 / treasure / 贝 字 |
left, base |
贵,则,贴,赚 |
|
斤 jīn |
4 / half kilo/ 斤 字 |
left, base |
斤,新,所 |
|
殳 shū |
4 / to kill / 殳字 |
right |
毀,没 |
|
日 rì |
4 / day, sun /日字 |
left, top, base |
时,明,昨,旧 |
|
车 chē |
4 / vehicle / 车 |
left, top, base |
辆,转,轻,轰,辈 |
|
戈 gē |
4 / spear / 戈 |
right, left |
我,或,战,划, (成) |
|
止 zhĭ |
4 / only to stop / 止 |
top, base, left |
步,肯,正,此,武 |
|
曰 yuè |
4 / to say, name / 曰 |
|
电,甲,冒,曲 |
|
牙 yá |
4 / tooth /牙 |
left |
鸦,雅 |
|
中 zhōng |
4 / middle / 中 |
top, right |
贵,忠 |
|
尝 * |
5 / 常 字 头 |
top |
常,党 ,堂 |
|
癸* |
5 / back to back / 背靠背(登字头) |
top |
登, 背 |
|
5 / grass & cover / 草花盖 |
top |
营,劳,荣 |
|
|
奉* |
5 / to present / 春字头 |
top |
春, 奏,奉,秦,泰 |
|
5 / gold (metal) / 金字旁 |
left, base |
银,钱,钢,铁 |
|
|
5 / to be ill / 病字头 |
left |
病,瘦,痛,疼,痕 |
|
|
5 / clothes / 衣字旁 |
left |
袄,补,衬,衫 |
|
|
禾 hé |
5 / grain / 禾木(旁, 头) |
left, top |
和,秒,秀,委, |
|
田 tián |
5 / field /田 |
top, base, left |
男,累,界, |
|
玉 yù |
5 / jade, pure /玉 |
left, base |
璧 |
|
示 shì |
5 / spirit /示 |
base |
崇,祭, |
|
去qù |
5 / to be away /去 |
base, left |
丢,却,劫 |
|
甘gān |
5 / sweet / 甘 |
top |
某 |
|
目 mù |
5 / eye /目 |
left, base |
看,眼,睛,眉 |
|
四 sì |
5 / four / 四字头 |
top |
罗,罩,罪 |
|
戊 wu |
5 / fifth /戊 |
left |
成,咸,戚 |
|
皿 mĭn |
5 / dish /皿字底 |
base |
盆,盐,监,盗,盟 |
|
瓜 guā |
5 / melon /瓜 |
right |
瓢,瓤 |
|
申 shēn |
5 / to state /申 |
left |
畅 |
|
皮 pí |
5 / skin /皮 |
left, right |
颇,皱 |
|
鸟 niăo |
5 / bird /鸟 |
right, base |
鸠,鸦 |
|
穴 xuè |
5 / cave / 穴字头 |
top |
穿,空,窗 |
|
矢 shĭ |
5 / arrow / 矢字 |
left |
知, 短, 矮 |
|
白 bái |
5 / white / 白字 |
left, top, base |
的, 皂,百, |
|
主 zhŭ |
5 / main / 主字 |
top |
表,责,毒,素 |
|
目 mù |
5 / eye / 目 字 |
left, base |
看,眼,睛 |
|
业 yè |
5 / business / 业 字 |
top |
凿 |
|
立 lì |
5 / to stand /立字 |
left, top, base |
站,亲,产,竖 |
|
石 shí |
5 / stone /石字(旁,底) |
left, top, base |
砂,矿,破,碟,泵,砦 |
|
竹* |
6 / bamboo 竹字头 |
top |
笔,签,简 |
|
米 mĭ |
6 / rice / 米字旁 |
left, top, base |
米,料,糊,类,粪,粲 |
|
羽 yú |
6 / feather, wing / 羽字 |
翼,翠,翻,翅,翁 |
|
|
耳 ér |
6 / ear /耳字 |
left |
取,职,联,聊 |
|
羊 yáng |
6 / sheep / 羊字头 |
top, right |
群,差 |
|
页 yì |
6 / heading 页字 |
right |
领,顺,顶 |
|
角 jiăo |
7 / horn /角字 |
left |
解,触 |
|
走 zŏu |
7 / to walk / 走字 |
left, base |
起,赴,赵 |
|
釆 căi |
8 / to separate / 采字 |
top, left |
悉,释,番 |
|
雨 yŭ |
8 / rain / 雨字, 雨字头 |
top |
雪,雷,霜,雾,需 |